Telescopic container



.l'labl sa J. c. WALDO 2,506,256

TELESCOPIC CONTAINER Filed Dec. 26, 1947 H6. Z F/a May 2, 1950 F/a jPatented May 2, 1950 UNITED STATES OFFICE.

2,506,256 TELESGQPIC CONTAJNEI} J m s 9- W isles? 99 n ApplicationDecember 26, 19457, Serial No. $3,946

7 (Cl. gee-4) 2 Glaims. 1

l his invention relates to containers, and more particularly to pluralcapacity telescopic special contour type.

This invention has utility when incorporated in'sc'tor shaped pairs ofrelatively telescopic sections 'to form a bottom and top. Thesectional'containers may be grouped with the points converging "to formacircular assemblage for selective contentsbr knick-knacks. Theindividual sector shaped containers may have attractive" appeal;especially when the container wallsbe decorativfas of colored plastic. Amore imiportafit us'isfor compact lunch boxes. A piece of pie asec'torcontainer may be placed in the bo'ii'and 'thei pie," thru the rigid wallof the etmameeke t from crushing or its juice'leakage into other vi'ctu'atsl Its multiple height permits ready adjustment for clearin hefrostin or'meringueor'fluify topof a'thi'clr piece of pie; while lunchbox capacityds conserved in collaps'ing fully the emptied container fordeposit inthe'lunch box to'be used fora succeeding tripf A'pie' of usualfiller and overall'thiclmess ma av t or, n wis ed w t upper c q 'be l ifl ore wi he in e ction h ost ner ar m' h n of; i er sn r ntn s i if aniry an carries an amazin p aranc o s eontsnis to. h one tobe'fed.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. I is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention as acontainer for a piece of pie, the showing being in an adjusted or butpartially collapsed assembly of the telescopic sections;

Fig. 2 a 59 1 1 1 0. th 11 .1711, Fig. 1. showing the collapse lim tStop at the pie point 9 tte ap Fig. 3 is'a section on the line IIIIII,Fig. 1, showing the clearance at the relied baclg'; N

" Fig;v is section entire l ne IV-JYQEig. 1, showing the register andstop at the outer" m,-

portions of the sectors which establish the back clearance and hold theaxis or apex in register;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a radial side of the fully collapsedsector shaped container of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VI-VI, Fig. 5, showing the frictionalholding as coacting between the sections;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the container looking at the are shaped backor portion remote from the center or axis;

but showing the tilting of the top or cover sec;- tion as a first stepin removing the bottom sec: tion therefrom, say to remove contents or tocharge the container; Fig. 9 is a detail view of an inner section lug;and Fig. 10 is a reverse nesting detail view.

The container herein disclosed comprises a minor or inner section havinga triangular shaped fiat bottom I with side walls rising there:- frou'nin radial portions 2, 3, from a center orapex 4. Remote from the. center4, the radial side portions 2, 3, extend to rounded corners 5 betweenwhich is a side 6 completing the bounds about this open-top bottomsection of sector form.

A somewhat larger dimension flat triangular top '5 has a pair ofradially extending diverging sides 8, 9, from a center or apex it.Remote from the center 10, the side portions 8, 9, end at roundedcorners Ii between which is a side l2 completingthe bounds aboutthe openbottom of this top sector formsection of the container.

The center Ill has an inward offset or ledge providing portion l3 (Fig.2) adapted to rest on the top of the center 4. At'this register relationbetween the portions Ill, l3, 4, lugs 14 may slide into flare entrancegrooves l5. A limit of telescopic relation is thus determined for thesides 2, {Land 3, 9, with a clearance H5 (Fig. 3) between the sides'ti,i2. At this partial telesccpic'assembly, the bottom I is parallel to thetop'l. "Medially along the lower portions of the radial sides 8; 9.inward bow portions I! provide slight frictional yield sufiicient toprecl ud'e fth'inner "or bottom section dropping'out when the assembledcontainer be grasped at the ee sctiee he ras q ia o e es? e i we theiansii a f '9 se i hese revered? s? sembldcontainer elements ofinterfitting cup term. th r s sug st mine eleme t x i er s ieetive asp nto. rem P l n dftbe mag eas s. dear hereo not ihs e d e the frictionoffsets l1.

At the additional or fully collapsed relation, the centers 4, 10 arespaced so that the ledge l3 may ride clear of the top of the center 4.This reduces the clearance Hi and brings the lug or tongue l4 out ofregister alignment as to the groove or seat 15. A lug or minor tongueprojection l8 from the bottom I adjacent the are side 6 is exposed by anotch I9 in the side [2, so that the user of the container may with athumb or finger nail pull the minor section Fig. 8 is a section on theline VIII-VIII, Fig.7, or element away from the major element (Fig.

8) in thereby exposing more extended portions of the minor element forgenerous grasping in drawing the elements apart as resisted by thefrictional holding means l1.

From the foregoing, it is to be understood that the degree ofoverlapping, or telescoping may be varied. To the extent such may bedetermined as partial, it may be in order to have one section with, amajor Wall or flange, and the other considerably minor, but still havingslip cover or telescopic interfitting coaction.

When the sections be of rigid, or substantially rigid material, theremay be nicety in play-minimizing register or interfitting. This isespecially important as the item may be. of substance for extended orgeneral re-use, instead of single service. For multiple use, plastic,say as transparent or translucent may enhance sight appeal. Anappropriately coated metal may be acceptable. However, for widening theuse; metal may answer for baking or cooking therein, whether or notthere be dough jacket therefor, a paper or fiber may be adopted; whileeven, as going into single service, the form itself may be edible.

While the internal rib I3 on the outer section center or corner region 4constitutes the stop or abutment at the apex for the fractionaltelescopic adjustment, there is stabilizing for the outer corners H byhaving internal ribs 20 aligning with and extending from the ends of thegrooves l5. A definite three-point suspension or holding is thusestablished against the ribs I4 slipping out of the grooves l5 when thestop I3 is holding.

Furthermore, with the inner section corner 4 snugly nesting with theouter section corner It, the clearance l6 does not act to have the arcs6, l2, contribute to centralizing the relation between the partiallynesting or telescoping sections. Therefore in order the more tofacilitate register accuracy for the lug M with the groove IS, awallthickening approach 2| merging with the lug l4 provides an automaticdirecting means for centering the inner section with its corner 4 toride into the corner Ill against the ledge l3, so to center the arc Swith the arc I2 that the lugs l4 ride directly into the grooves I5.

Streamlining, of at least one side of each of the sections may be hadunder the disclosure herein. The inner section (Fig. 8) has no innerlugs or grooves, and the container section is thus symmetrical forreceiving a piece of pie, or other article as of food. Streamlining ofthe outer section may also be adopted by having outer symmetricalthickening region 22 (Fig. 10) to conceal the external location for thegroove l5 as on the inside. The interfitting for plurality of telescopicvolume positions, has the control means therefor on the sides as ridingagainst each other for the respective sections.

For closed container uses, the pair of sections of cup form areassembled with the flanges toward each other.

Should occasion arise for using but one of the containers and that foropen top, the smaller or inner section may be so used, with its flatside I against the top or now bottom side I of the larger section. Thebottom I is bounded by an endless side wall 2, 3, 6. Complementarythereto is the top I bounded by endless side wall 8, 9, Hi. The bottom 1and the top I are diaphragms for the respective cup elements of thecontainer.

What is claimed and it is desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a pair of plastic elements, each having aperipherally endless wall extending to a free edge in a plane, one ofsaid elements being adapted to embrace the other in telescopic coactionbetween the planes defined by said free edges; one of said walls having,spaced from its plane-defining edge, ledge means inte gral with saidwall and extending toward the other wall; said other wall having, spacedfrom its plane-defining edge, complementary seat means abutted bysaidledge means at register therebetween to provide a first stop positivelyholding the elements from further telescoping, said elements havingsufficient clearance between the telescoping wall portions to permitrelative shifting to an out-of-register position between the ledge andseat means of said first stop, there being additional inter-elementabutment means providing a second stop with one element further shiftedinto the other than at the first stop.

2. The combination of a pair of plastic elements, each having aperipherally endless wall terminating in a free-edge-defining plane, oneof said'elements being adapted to embrace telesco-pically the other, oneof said walls having ledge means integral therewith and extending towardthe other wall, said other wall having complementary seat means abuttedby said ledge means at register therebetween to provide a first stop,there being a diaphragm for each element bounded by its wall andcoacting at the first stop in determining a first volume for theelements combined in a container at one spaced relation between saidplanes, said elements having interwall clearance sufficient to shift theledge and seat means out of register for the diaphragms to approach intoa second lesser volume container, there being abutting means between theelements coacting at this second volume assembly.

I I JAMES C. WALDO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

